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Millburn Congregational United Church of Christ

MESSENGER February 2017

Church Leadership 2017 Moderator Scott Etienne

Vice-Moderator Tim Overocker

Assistant Moderator

Treasurer Kristie Hughes

Clerk Laura Dragin

Administration Committee Chair Deb Grandos

Administration Comm. Vice-Chair Dan Cardinell

Christian Education Comm. Chair Alisha Mills

Christian Education Comm. Vice-Chair

Discipleship Committee Chair Alicia Rayner

Discipleship Committee Vice-Chair Amanda Majerowski

Mission Committee Chair Nila Grahl

Mission Committee Vice-Chair Cindy Rendl

Worship Committee Chair Eric Walters

Worship Committee Vice-Chair Diane Etienne

Congratulations to our new leaders. As you can see we have a couple of posi-tions to be filled. If you are interested in either position, contact Modera-tor, Scott Etienne.

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February 2017

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 2 Groundhog Day 3 4

6:15 Handbell Choir 5:00 Soup Kitchen

7:15 Adult Choir 6:00 Den 9

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

8:30 Worship/Communion 6:30 Den 1, 2 7:00 Pack Comm. 6:15 Handbell Choir 6:00 Parent's

10:00 Worship/Commun. 7:15 Adult Choir Night Out

Sunday School 8:15 House Band

11:00 Coffee Hour

PICK UP YOUR

SUPER BOWL SUBS

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

8:30 Worship Valentine's Day 6:15 Handbell Choir 7:00 Compassionate

10:00 Worship & 7:15 Adult Choir Friends

Sunday School 8:15 House Band

11:00 Coffee Hour

MESSENGER DEADLINE

19 20 Presidents' Day 21 22 23 24 25

8:30 Worship 9:15 Messenger 6:15 Handbell Choir 7:00 Millburn

9:15 House Band Office Closed Collating 7:15 Adult Choir Cemetery Assoc Mtg

10:00 Worship &

Sunday School 6:30 4H

11:00 Coffee Hour 6:30 Den 4

11:30 Mission CLUB 7:00 CE Comm

26 27 28

8:30 Worship 6:00 Shrove Tuesday

9:55 Cherub Choir Dinner

10:00 Worship &

Sunday School

11:00 Coffee Hour

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Pastor Jed’s Message

Friends:

It's a new year. A new one for us, as individuals. And a new one for us, as a community. It's a time to be hopeful, expectant, confident, enthusiastic.

It’s a time when many of us begin new journeys, or commit to resume older ones

That’s always exciting, the notion of a journey. It’s always seemed to me that folks who lead rich and satisfying lives tend to think of them as journeys. Hopefully our journeys will have a spiritual dimension to them, and hopefully for us Christians they’ll all lead back to Jesus of Nazareth.

That way we’ll be able to move forward not only with enthusiasm and vigor, but also with vision to guide and direct all of that energy.

On Epiphany Sunday, we heard a story from the very infancy of the faith – the day that Gentiles (people like you and me) first heard a call and went out looking for Jesus. In that story a star stood still, and God appeared to them. Hopefully it’s not merely an an-cient story. Hopefully it’s our story, too. Because stars can still...stand still. And I think we should expect that they will. It wouldn’t be the first time that God has appeared among people like us. It wouldn’t be the first time that people like us were surprised by that appearance. And it wouldn’t be the first time that God has made God’s will known to people who seek it.

Be open to the possibility.

Peace and Love,

Pastor Jed Watson

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Margo’s Message There is a sign-up for the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper on February 28 on the Bulletin Board in Lauren Hall. Supper is served at 6:00 and cost is $5.00 per person. Pancakes, French Toast, sausage and lots of yummy toppings will be served. Join the fun, festivities and good food as we prepare for Lent.

Youth News:

Here is our Youth schedule for February. The Senior High will be meeting on February 5 making Super Bowl Subs very early that morning. We will not meet for our regular Club that day. Our next meeting will be Mission Club on February 19 as we help with the P.A.D.S. meal. Youth from 7th grade through Sr. High are welcome.

Feb. 5: Pick-up your Super Bowl Subs

Feb. 11: Parents Night Out/Date Night (see flyer)

Feb. 28: Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper

The Millburn Church Youth are partnering with Portillo’s in Gurnee for a fundraiser on Tuesday, February 7 from 5:00-8:00 pm. Bring in the flyer below, or pick one up at Church, and enjoy a delicious meal! Portil-lo’s will donate 20% of the sales from those presenting our flyer! All proceeds to Mission Trip 2017.

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Discipleship Committee

Thank you for the opportunity for allowing me to help serve the church. Ironically, I was cre-ating a "40 in 40 list", which means I was writing 40 things I plan to accomplish this year since I will turn 40 in March. While creating the list, I stated I wanted to be more involved with the church. Ironically (or by God-incidence), I received a call a week after I wrote the list from Joel Williams indicating they were looking to fill the Chair for the Discipleship Com-mittee. Therefore, I was delighted to accept this position. I have been a part of the UCC since 7th grade and have had the opportunity to be a part of the youth group both as a member and as a leader, attend mission trips, teach and serve as a substitute for Sunday school, and volunteer for VBS. Over the past three years, my family and I could not be happier to call Millburn UCC our church home. I'm thrilled to learn more about this position from Margie, Amanda, and the rest of the committee while continuing to help the church flourish in discipleship. We will continue to create opportunities for individu-als to become closer as a family and grow in Christ. Thanks for understanding this is a little late! Alicia Rayner

Food Pantry In December, we served Mitten Tree families as well as typical volume of Food Pantry clients, and our shelves look empty. We currently need: breakfast cereal, instant oat-meal, fruit juice, chicken noodle soup, spaghetti sauce, canned stew, canned meats (chicken, ham, tuna, SPAM), and boxed mac n cheese. We are always in need of dish soap, laundry detergent and toilet paper. Donations of personal care products (deodorant, shaving products, shampoo, feminine products, etc.) are always appreciated by food pantry patrons. The Millburn Church Food Pantry serves clients by individual appointment no more than once each month. Families are provided with 7-10 days of food. Their financial need is verified by Love INC (Love In the Name of Christ) to assure we are serving those most needy. Donations can be dropped off in the Mission “drop-off” room near the sanctuary. Contact Donna Zradicka with questions at 847-767-5682, or email: donnazradicka@aol.com.

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LEMONADE: When life gives you lemons

To give people an idea what the women's retreat is like, I decided to have a "mini-retreat" on Sunday, April 30th at 1:00 p.m. in Lauren Hall, and will last about two hours. It is called, "Lemonade: When life gives you lemons," and focuses on 2 Corinthians 5:17..."Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone, and a new life has begun."

I thought this topic was ideal, as life sometimes does give us "lemons," and then it's up to us what we're going to do with them. It will be led by someone who certainly knows how to make lemonade out of those lemons!

Anyway, the cost for the event is $10 for the supplies. We will be playing a game, get to know each other on a different level, do an uplifting craft and sample some yummy lemon treats. The sign-up sheet is in Lauren Hall. NOTE: Please bring scissors a solid colored T-shirt of any size or color.

Just see me if you have any questions. I'm looking forward to this "mini-retreat," and the regular one held at the beginning of October will be called, "Sweet Life Cafe." It will be held from Friday evening until Saturday afternoon. But I'm getting ahead of myself! I hope that you can attend "Lemonade: When life gives you lemons." Thank you!

Nan Thorson, Women's Retreat Director

Spring Rummage Sale Set Mark your calendar, the church will hold its Spring Rum-mage & Bake Sale fundraiser on May 12th and 13th. Now is a good time to clean your closets and start to gather out-grown warm weather clothes, unused housewares, decora-tions, linens, collectibles, trinkets, toys, small furniture and small electronics. The church will accept non-clothing dona-tions starting in March to allow us to start pricing the mer-chandise. Early donations should be in boxes for easier storage. Then in April, we will accept all donations toward the sale. Please help support this fundraiser - donation re-ceipts are available. Contact Kris Franks 262-344-5903, psychokittie53@hotmail.com, with any questions.

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Concerns Donna Geiger Recovering from knee surgery

Milt Anderson Recovering from a fall and concussion

Penny Tate Recovering from a fall and fractured pelvis

Alisha Mills father, Bruce Undergoing medical testing

Mourning Barb Coon Passing of Aunt Betty

Richard Heinlein Passing of his mother

Keep in Your Prayers Dan Leek and Laurie McKee Transitioning through a difficult time

Diane Doner Recovering from surgery

Tom Turnbull Struggling with circulation problems

Norma Welch Recovering from eye surgery

Krystal Polit’s Uncle Terry Diagnosed with cancer

Sue Heinlein Recovering from knee replacement

Walter Hartge Recovering from a blood clot

Glenda Class In rehab at Rolling Hills

Joan Schroeder After recent hospitalization and testing

Nila Grahl’s father, Tim Recovering from a heart attack

Bill Eiserman Diagnosed with bladder cancer

Lois Doolittle Recovering from a fall

Vera Myers

Alicia Rayner

Ann Siepker

Jodi Tipler

Lorna Jacobs

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Jenna Anderson 01

Amanda Moulchin 02

Joan Schroeder 03

Ruth Wells 06

Nila Grahl 07

Penny Tate 11

Lew McGuire 13

Jim Zradicka 13

Jeff Hinshaw 14

Terry Knight 15

Jim Grandos 17

Vicki Szpylman 18

Joe Dillon 20

Susan Foster 20

Leslie Levinson 21

Donna Zradicka 22

Linda Ryckman 23

Craig Holst 24

Bob Tschannen 24

Toots Bennett 27

Dawn Denman 27

Patrick Burnett 28

Handbell Choir

Our handbell choir is looking for people to join us. We practice most Wednesday nights at 6:15 to 7:15 in Lauren Hall. Some music knowledge is helpful, but not necessary. We will teach you how to play the bells – not hard to play at all! The choir is open to anyone 8th grade through adults. We play on the 5th Sundays during the 10 a.m. worship service, special occasions and sometimes with the adult choir.

Please stop in on a Wednesday night to see what we

are about. If you have any questions, please see any

of our members: Pat Coon, Gary Doolittle, Vicki Szpyl-

man, Nancy Becker, Sue Watson, Sue Heinlein, Ruth

Young or Kris Franks.

Preschool Preschool has been super busy during the month of January learning about so many animals. We spent time learning about animals that do not like winter and spend it sleeping. We focused on the many different places the ani-mals go to sleep as well. Then we moved onto animals that love winter and cold. These animals were sure fun to learn about. The preschoolers wished they could be penguins since they spend a lot of time sliding on their bellies on the ice. and it looks like lots of fun. We practiced what it would be like to carry your egg on your feet, we all agreed web feet would be helpful. February is of course going to be filled with Love, as we celebrate Valentine’s Day. We love visitors, and welcome you to stop in and say hi! Registration for the Fall 2017 Preschool Program If you have not checked us out be-fore, we would love for you to stop by and see what we are learning. Our program offers pro-grams for 2’s, 3’s, 4’s.

Answer to kids page: 36

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Bring the kids to Millburn Church and The Junior/Senior High Youth will baby-sit!

Price: Free Will Donation

All Proceeds to Mission Trip 2017

February 11, 2017

Time: 6:00-9:00 p.m.

Supper will be served.

Call Margo @ 847-356-5237 ext. 4

to reserve a spot or sign-up on the door outside Preschool Classroom or on the bulletin board in Lauren Hall!

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Messenger Team

Editor/Publisher—Kris Franks psychokittie53@hotmail.com

Collators:

Ron Bratzke, Lynnette Bratzke, Donna Geiger, Ruth Young Deadline for article submission is the 2nd Sunday of each month. Next deadline is Sunday, March 12th. Email your articles, comments, kudos, etc. to Kris Franks, Editor or to the Church Office Coordinator. You can also drop off your sub-missions at the church office.

Church Staff Pastor Jed Watson

pastor@millburnchurch.org

Monday – Thursday- 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Wednesday - Pastor’s study day

Friday - Day Off

Margo Paramski, Director of Christian Education

directorce@millburnchurch.org

Monday and Tuesday – 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Laura Dragin, Office Coordinator

secretary@millburnchurch.org

Monday 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.,

Tues, Wed, Fri — 8:30 a.m.– 12:30 p.m.

Becky Fuller, Music Director

Beckyfuller03@gmail.com

Millburn Church Early Learning Center

Julie Zehner, Preschool Director

preschool@millburnchurch.org

Worship 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.

Nursery Care and Sunday School at 10:00 a.m.

www.millburnchurch.org

T: 847-356-5237 F: 847-356-5669

January Coffee Hour Hosts

Thank you for hosting our January coffee hours.

1st - MYLO

8th– none/Annual Meeting

15th– Mission Trip Youth

22nd– none

29th– Chili Cook-off

Please consider hosting a future cof-fee hour. Groups, individuals, com-mittees are welcome. Sign up sheet is on bulletin board in Lauren Hall.

25% of the people think the pastor can walk on water, 25% think he doesn’t know enough to come in out of the rain; and 50% are satisfied if church is on time and the sermon isn’t too long.

-Msgr.Joseph P. Dooley,

Martins Creek, Pennsylvania

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Jesus as a Boy Luke 2:39-40

Across Down

1. An angel told Joseph 1. Got bigger

to ____ back to Israel. 3. A creature with feathers

2. If you have wisdom, you and wings.

are ____.. (rhymes with 5. The Son of God

“eyes”) 6. The land where pharaohs

3. Opposite of girl ruled—Moses led the

4. Father, Son, Holy ______ people out of ________.

How many??

How many hearts, like the ones on this page, can you find throughout this Messenger??

Answer on page 8

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Millburn Congregational United Church of Christ

19073 W. Grass Lake Rd. Lake Villa, IL 60046

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we worship God as a spiritually alive church, welcoming all and reaching out with love as Christ’s disciples.

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